1. Field of the invention
This present invention relates to a vehicle towing apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
As this kind of apparatus, a two-wheeled vehicle towing apparatus has conventionally been proposed in, for example, Japanese patent unexamined application publication No. S58-12810. This apparatus is configured such that a wheel cradle is connected to the rear of an automobile, and one of the wheels of the two-wheeled vehicle is placed and fixed on the wheel cradle, thereby towing the two-wheeled vehicle by the automobile. Here, the wheel cradle comprises an L-shaped steel at right and left sides thereof, and the L-shaped steel includes a longitudinal side portion elongated in a substantially vertical direction and a lateral side portion elongated in a front-back direction. Both ends of the L-shaped steel are connected by a wheel guiding steel elongated in an oblique direction. Between the right and left longitudinal side portions, there is provided a movable wheel adjustment board, while between the right and left lateral side portions, there is provided a wheel receiver. In this way, between the right and left wheel guiding steels, the front portion of the front wheel is abutted to the movable wheel adjustment board, and the lower portion of the front wheel is placed on the wheel receiver, thereby fixing the front wheel on the wheel cradle by a spring steel for anti-disengagement purpose.
In addition, another two-wheeled vehicle towing apparatus is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,044, which includes a wheel cradle, a diagonal member and a footplate. The wheel cradle is formed in an L-shape with a front-wheel axle bearing elongated in a substantially vertical direction and a bottom plate elongated in a front-back direction. The diagonal member is provided between the front-wheel axle bearing and the bottom plate, and the footplate is provided in the rear of the bottom plate so as to adjust an own position in a front-back direction. In this way, the front wheel is placed on the bottom plate of the wheel cradle and fixed thereon by a pin, thereby towing the two-wheeled vehicle.